'The Newsroom' Season 3: HBO Renews Aaron Sorkin Drama After All

Just a few days ago, concerns arose over HBO Aaron Sorkin drama 'The Newsroom,' whose production-challenged second season and modest ratings made it unclear if the cable network would opt to pursue a third season, given the delay in announcement. Now, Aaron Sorkin fans can breath easy as 'The Newsroom' season 3 will officially unfurl on the teleprompter in summer 2014!

Jeff Daniels himself first broke the news over Twitter, simply relaying "It's official. #Newsroom coming back for a Season 3." A formal announcement from HBO will likely arrive within the day, wherein details of the third season (episode number, likely airdate) will fall into place. Today seems to have seen HBO get its house in order for 2014, having earlier confirmed that 'True Blood' season 7 will shed its last bloody tear with a 2014 series finale.

Last year, HBO renewed both ‘True Blood‘ and ‘The Newsroom’ in one shot, while back in late July, HBO president Michael Lombardo seemed cautiously optimistic about a 'Newsroom' season 3 renewal, saying:

The odds are excellent, we’re enormously happy with the show. Conversations with Aaron Sorkin are all about scheduling as he he has other commitments. If we can figure the scheduling, I will be shocked if you would not be hearing about a renewal soon. The numbers this season are surpassing last season.

Adding to speculation over the journalistic drama's fate, Sorkin told press earlier in the year that the stress of writing had gotten to him somewhat in the second season, causing production headaches as Sorkin requested costly reshoots of early season episodes that saw the season 2 order reduced to 9 hours. The cuts seem to have omitted any role comedian Patton Oswaltwas to have in the season, while certain other sublplots seem to have been lost to continuity issues.

For as much of a critical punching bag as 'The Newsroom' tends to be, we're definitely glad to have Will McAvoy and the 'News Night' team back for round three, as well as whatever format variations Aaron Sorkin comes up with in 2014. 'The Newsroom' will return from its Labor Day break this coming Sunday with the first of a two-stage finale "Election Night, Part 1," so check out the clips below and celebrate 'The Newsroom' season 3 in the comments!